Cradle of Thorns


Cradle of Thorns is a five-piece rock band from Bakersfield, California, United States. The band put out one record as Videodrone on Korn's Elementree Records, as well as three albums under their original name. One was independently released, and the other two were released by Triple X Records. After Videodrone broke up, drummer Kris Kohls went on to join Adema, and frontman Ty Elam performed in a number of Bakersfield bands. In 2006, Ty Elam reformed the band as Cradle of Thorns with a new lineup.

History

Formation and ''Remember It Day'' (1988–1990)

In 1988 vocalist Ty Elam formed the gothic rock band Cradle of Thorns. With a combination of male and female lead vocalists, a dark, atmospheric sound, and environmentally and socially conscious lyrics, they toured extensively and earned an underground following. They released an independent record entitled Remember It Day in 1990.

''Feed-Us'' (1994–1995)

The band signed with Triple X Records and in 1994 released Feed-Us, produced by Ross Robinson. This was a more aggressive album with hip hop elements, drug addiction, S&M and voyeurism, and serial murder. The album also included a new, angrier version of "Remember It Day" with cleaner production that descends into screaming chaos. Feed-Us also established a band staple: the final track contains an extended, sample-based noise collage following the last song.

''Download This!'' (1996–1998)

1996's Download This! saw the departure of female vocalist Tamera Slayton and bassist Scat Elis. With new bassist Purdy Spackle, the band shifted to a fusion of punk, rap, metal, and industrial rock, with more rapping and screaming than ever before and more extensive sampling and use of electronics. The song "Bulimia Blowjob" features an appearance by vocalist Aimee Echo of Human Waste Project and TheSTART, and Jeff Schartoff, of Human Waste Project and Professional Murder Music. Schartoff is also touring bassist for Peter Murphy.

Name change and ''Videodrone'' (1998–2000)

For their fourth album, bassist Purdy Spackle was replaced by Mavis and the band dropped most of the punk elements and fully embraced a more pop-oriented industrial rock sound. They renamed themselves Videodrone, as a play on the film of a similar name. Their twelve-track, self-titled CD was released in 1999 with appearances from Korn's Jonathan Davis on "Ty Jonathan Down", Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst and DJ Lethal on "Human Piñata", and Psycho Realm on "Pig in a Blanket". Also from Korn, Head played guitar on "Power Tools for Girls" and Fieldy produced the album.
In high school, vocalist Ty Elam had often collaborated with friends Jonathan Davis and Ryan Shuck and their band Sexart. Shuck would go on to play for Orgy, another one-time Elementree Records band. After touring with Korn, Rob Zombie, Orgy, and Machine Head, lack of label support and drug problems spelled the end for Videodrone.

Break up and post-Videodrone projects (2000–2006)

Drummer Kris Kohls went on to play for Adema and vocalist Ty Elam would go on to play in local Bakersfield bands Karmahitlist, Three Chord Whore, and Arrival of Fawn after Videodrone's demise in 2000.

Reformation (2006–2015)

In 2007, Ty Elam resurrected the band under its original moniker Cradle of Thorns with all new members. The song "All Over Again" was released as a single, which can be heard on the band's official MySpace page. Elam later appeared on metal band Mastiv's album, End of the Silence, released in 2011. By 2015, Cradle of Thorns’s official homepage ceased, and nothing has been stated regarding the group’s future since.

Style, influences and legacy

The band has a mixed style. The first album offers calm music, but after that the musicians use elements from grunge, punk rock and gothic rock. Feed-Us is their most colourful work. When nu-metal got popular, Cradle of Thorns started to add rapcore elements in their music. When they changed the band name, their music stayed industrial.
Cradle of Thorns has influenced bands including Deadsy, Flame of Life, and Evanescence.

Members

; Current members
; Former members
; Timeline


ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:90 bottom:80 top:0 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1988 till:01/01/2016
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead vocals
id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitars
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:Keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:studio value:black legend:Studio album
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3
ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1990
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1988
LineData =
layer:back
color:studio
at:21/08/1990
at:29/03/1994
at:30/01/1996
at:23/02/1999
BarData =
bar:Elam text:"Ty Elam"
bar:Slayton text:"Tamera Slayton"
bar:File text:"David File"
bar:Thiriot text:"Steve Thiriot"
bar:Caruso text:"Jay Caruso"
bar:Elis text:"Scat Elis"
bar:Spackle text:"Purdy Spackle"
bar:Mavis text:"Mavis"
bar:Wilkinson text:"Matt Wilkinson"
bar:Cowden text:"Rohan Cowden"
bar:Kohls text:"Kris Kohls"
PlotData=
width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:
bar:Elam from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/2000 color:Vocals
bar:Elam from:01/01/2007 till:end color:Vocals
bar:Elam from:01/01/2007 till:end color:Drums width:3
bar:Slayton from:01/01/1988 till:30/06/1995 color:Vocals
bar:File from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/2000 color:Guitar
bar:Thiriot from:01/01/2007 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Thiriot from:01/01/2007 till:end color:Keyboards width:3
bar:Caruso from:01/01/1988 till:30/06/1992 color:Bass
bar:Elis from:01/07/1992 till:30/06/1995 color:Bass
bar:Spackle from:01/07/1995 till:30/06/1997 color:Bass
bar:Mavis from:01/07/1997 till:31/12/2000 color:Bass
bar:Wilkinson from:01/01/2007 till:end color:Bass
bar:Kohls from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/2000 color:Drums
bar:Cowden from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/2000 color:Keyboards

Discography

Cradle of Thorns

Music videos